


Life is Fragile

by onlyhereforellick



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, alt ep 17x17, fluff for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: Life is fragile, but with the right foundation- we can survive anything.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 8
Kudos: 75





	Life is Fragile

**Author's Note:**

> trying to offset my recent angst

The laughter of an old rerun of Friends lilted in the background, neither of the two agents paying too much attention to the television screen. They’d turned it on when they collapsed into the couch, exhausted from digging through the evidence garage for several cold cases that may link to a new lead they had. McGee had mentioned it first, but all three of them had thought it—people kept too- much- crap. Between an entire garage full of boxes and letters from Art a couple weeks ago, to rejoining Terry to sort through decades of poorly organized evidence bags from home invasions turned murders—they were all ready to start throwing away their own belongings.

Which is how Nick and Ellie found themselves discussing which items they knew could be tossed in their apartments- joking about just how long they’d kept something that hadn’t been touched in months or even years.

Ellie sat on the far end of the deep brown leather couch, facing Nick with her knees bent, toes tucked into the divide of cushions. Nick was leaning back, white textured throw pillow in his lap as his upper body turned towards her. Ellie couldn’t help but poke fun at him, “Seriously? You don’t think there’s anything in this room you can get rid of?”

Nick scoffed, raising a hand to his chest in mock hurt, “No! Everything in here is meaningful. How could you say that?” He added a touch of flair to the last of his words, really trying to drive home his joking point.

She just shook her head as a chuckle fell from her lips, “What happened to the man with no belongings? The man who didn’t feel the need to even decorate his apartment?” Ellie gave him a pointed look as she tilted her head. A small part of her wasn’t joking and she wondered if he’d catch on to that.

The air in the living room stilled as something his eyes shifted- she couldn’t quite name the look, but it was different. Nick said much more silently than before, “Things change- people change.”

A small grunt of understanding was all she offered in return. The weight of his words and stare preventing her from forming more of a reply.

Her head turned back to the episode—it was an intimately set scene, she instantly recognized the part. She heard vaguely Chandler’s question to Monica, “ _Who wouldn’t want you?_ ” as the show flashed to them together in bed. Ellie cringed at the pull to feel exactly like Monica—she was always alone, could never manage ‘love’ right, no one- _no one that mattered_ \- loved her.

She felt tight suddenly, cramped in this small space, her body ached. She gently pried her toes from between the cushions and went to stretch her legs straight, trying to shake the crowded feeling overcoming her. Some tiny voice, much braver than herself, urged her to rest her feet on the pillow in Nick’s lap. It was such a simple gesture- he wouldn’t even notice, _right_? Holding her breath, she wiggled her toes once and placed her feet on the soft pillow- Nick didn’t even flinch. In fact, his hands immediately went to capture her socked feet and started to stroke circles along her arches.

An involuntary moan escaped the back of her throat, garnering a quick glance and raised eyebrow from Nick. Ellie snapped her lips shut real fast, praying he wouldn’t stop the magical work of his hands. In an effort to distract her mind from wandering into dangerous territory, Ellie returned to their earlier joking. “See? Like that,” she pointed towards his built-ins encasing the TV, “You really need that old cracked vase? It certainly looks like it’s seen better days.”

Nick let out a breathy laugh, “That’s from my first undercover case- it saved me, actually. Thought the whole thing would’ve shattered over the guy’s head, but it survived- only sustained that small crack.” Nick was lost in the memory for a second before turning back towards her, “I keep it as a reminder, life is fragile, but with the right foundation- we can survive anything.”

The depth to his words stole Ellie’s breath. She had never expected a simple light aqua stained clay vase to hold such meaning for the man before her—he was certainly a man full of surprises. Undeterred to keep the conversation light as Nick’s hands were unrelenting- occasionally moving up to rub her sore calves, the touch slowly turning more intimate than she was prepared for- Ellie moved on to the next object, a clear jar with blue stones in the lid. Almost instantaneously Ellie placed it as Kasie’s random day gift from a while ago—the gift Nick hated if she remembered correctly… _what was it doing with cloudy water in it? Next to a vase brimming with meaning, no less?_

A huff to start because she was sure she’d caught him with a useless object he could throw away, and then a light accusatory tone to follow, “Ok but that?” Nick’s gaze followed hers, “The jar you hated? With weird gross water in it? Really Nick? You don’t need that.”

His hands stilled on her foot, his entire body seemed to stop moving- stop breathing. The reaction confused Ellie, i _t was a jar- was it not_?

“Don’t tell me this is some symbolic jar that holds the most sought after water from the ends of the Earth.” Ellie rolled her eyes as she moved to look at the still frozen Nick.

His voice seemed strangled, like he’d been accused of some embarrassing crime he didn’t want getting out, “It’s- it’s a reminder, too.”

Ellie paused looking at his confoundedly, “…ooooof?” she drew out the word to probe him further.

NIck’s reply was said stoically, “That life is fragile.”

Ellie shrugged her hands in the air so fast, “That’s what you said about the last one! Nick!” He had yet to tear his eyes away from the jar, had yet to give her anything more.

She wriggled her feet as if to get him to come to.

Nothing.

“Ooooo-kay, how is dirty water showing life is fragile?” she questioned, a little less aggressively since he still had not shaken whatever came over him.

Nick refused to look at her, still staring at the jar on the shelf, but at least he responded. It was a whisper, but it was something, “It’s from the lake.”

At first, she wanted to shake him, jump off this couch, bend over, grip his shoulders and give him a good hard shake. Maybe that would lead him to speaking sense. But then Ellie’s gaze traveled back to the jar- back to that day...

_Sprinting off the dock, diving into the frigid cold lake, scrambling to find Morgan Burke._

_Surfacing in a panic, pulling her to the shore, praying she’d start breathing again._

_Feeling his presence before he reached her, knowing she was safe the moment his hand encapsulated her shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief at the calm washing over her._

A sharp intake of breath proceeded the revelation. Nick had gone back.

Barely above a whisper, Ellie eeked out, “Is that...” she trailed off, unable to finish her question.

Nick didn’t need her to. “Yes,” was all the confirmation he gave. But it was also all she needed.

His eyes were already on her when she tore her gaze away from the jar- the emotion she saw there taking any remaining air from her lungs.

“ _Nick_ ,” she breathed.

In less than a heartbeat, her feet were tossed to the side, the pillow flung off his lap, and his face inches from hers as he crouched on his hands and knees beside her on the couch.

The fire in his midnight black dilated eyes threatened to set her ablaze. His husky words like honey whiskey over her skin, “Tell me to stop, Ellie.”

Her throat went bone dry, a raspy, “I can’t,” slipped out before his lips captured hers.

The pent up desire and desperation leading to a rough, impassioned kiss. A kiss she surely wouldn’t be forgetting in a long, long time.


End file.
